A Young People's History of the United States Volume 2

     A Young People's History of the United States Volume 2 by Howard Zinn and adapted by Rebecca Stefoff is a version of Zinn's famous book A People's History of the United States that has been changed to be specific for teenage readers.  This is a great adaptation because not only does it make accessing the text less of a struggle for students, it allows them to access a different view of American history that is not taught in the traditional textbooks of the classroom.

     Continuing on in the series, Volume 2 encompasses American history from Class Struggle during the turn of the century through the War on Terror.  Zinn and Stefoff approach the telling of history through the eyes and experiences of the powerless and marginalized instead of the powerful.  First looking at the struggles of the common worker in the factories and how their attempt to unionize was squashed, through the civil rights movement and the rarely heard voices of Native Americans, to the current War on Terror.  This book is highly recommended for history classes to let the students that history is never from one perspective.

Dave Pfeiff